Sponsor
John James
Representative · R-MI
Representative · R-MI
The bill creates an automatic pay penalty to push lawmakers to avoid shutdowns, but it does not protect federal workers or contractors from lost pay and may be administratively burdensome or politically reversible, limiting its real-world effectiveness.
Members of Congress: their pay is reduced during funding shutdowns, creating a direct financial incentive for lawmakers to avoid or resolve shutdowns more quickly.
Payroll administrators and congressional payroll systems: an automatic, statutory payroll mechanism requires pro rata pay adjustments during shutdowns so deductions happen without additional votes or legislative delays.
Federal employees and government contractors: the bill reduces members' pay during shutdowns but does not provide direct compensation or make affected federal workers and contractors whole for lost pay or work.
Taxpayers and the effectiveness of the law: the pay penalty may be a weak deterrent if Congress later restores pay retroactively or if political incentives outweigh the financial hit, meaning shutdowns may still occur.
Payroll administrators and Treasury offices: implementing pro rata deductions for potentially frequent or short shutdowns increases administrative complexity and workload for payroll and Treasury systems.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires payroll administrators to deduct one day’s pay from Members of Congress for each 24‑hour period a government shutdown affects a pay period.
Official title: To prohibit the pay of Members of Congress during periods in which a Government shutdown is in effect, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 27, 2026 by John James · Last progress March 27, 2026
Mandates automatic pay deductions for Members of Congress during federal government shutdowns by requiring House and Senate payroll administrators to withhold one day’s pay for each 24‑hour period a shutdown is in effect that falls within a pay period. The rule applies starting with the 120th Congress and continues for future Congresses; the bill defines "government shutdown" and adopts the existing statutory list of who counts as a "Member of Congress."